“We’ve saved £60,000 by switching to Ticket Tailor. That’s an extra band or DJ set for our festival”
Lakefest has come a long way from its early days. What started with a few hundred people watching The Wurzels perform on a tractor stage has grown into a thriving weekender event welcoming 20,000 people.
And those 20,000 people certainly get the full festival experience at today’s Lakefest, with brilliant live music line-ups, dazzling performance art, fun children’s activities and everything else needed to create a few days of escape. For Festival Director Andy Windmill, that’s what Lakefest is all about: giving people “a little bit of a holiday and some magic”.
Creating a little bit of magic
Music might be at the heart of Lakefest, but there’s plenty happening away from the main stage too.
Across the weekend, festivalgoers can stumble across circus performances, BMX stunt shows, creative workshops, comedy, retro gaming and a good old-fashioned funfair. There are quieter corners too, with yoga, crafts and space to escape the heady festival chaos for a while.
This crowd-pleasing mix is a big part of Lakefest’s family-friendly feel. There’s something for younger festivalgoers, something for the grown-ups, and lots they can enjoy together.
Of course, the music still pulls some serious names. Recent Lakefest line-ups have featured Faithless, Busted, Groove Armada, Madness, The Charlatans, and Bananarama no less!
Keeping festival costs under control
The festival’s impressive growth since its early days has brought plenty of excitement, but also bigger decisions behind the scenes. With artist fees and infrastructure costs climbing, the Lakefest team is always looking for ways to spend smarter without compromising the experience for festivalgoers, a mission that eventually led them to Ticket Tailor.
“Festivals are getting, by nature, more and more expensive,” says Andy. “Your infrastructure costs are going up, your artist fees are going up, so you’re always looking at ways to try and save money.”
For Lakefest, ticketing was one area where those savings could really add up. After using several other providers, and even developing their own system, the team made the switch to Ticket Tailor.
The impact was significant. By Rob’s estimate, Lakefest is saving around £60,000 on ticketing costs.
But for the team, that saving means so much more than a healthier bottom line. It gives them more room to invest back into the festival itself, while avoiding the need to pass extra costs onto the people buying tickets.
“If you can save instead of putting it onto the consumer, then you can give them a better experience,” says Rob.
Finding a ticketing setup that worked for Lakefest
Saving money was one key driver behind Lakefest’s decision to switch ticketing platforms, but they also needed a setup that could handle the realities of running a large festival.
The team was really impressed with the hands-on support they got from our friendly support team here at Ticket Tailor, who helped them work through some pretty specific challenges. One of those was adapting an arena-style seating plan into a pitch plan that made sense for a festival field, a real game-changer for the event.
Lakefest also wanted ticket buying to stay simple right up to the gates. They were particularly happy to find that if someone arrives at the box office without a ticket, they can buy one and be scanned in within seconds.
What £60,000 can do for a festival
It’s safe to say Lakefest have been thrilled with the savings they’ve made from switching to Ticket Tailor, especially when considering what that money can be turned into.
“That’s a band. That’s a DJ set we can have,” says Rob.
Ultimately, it means more budget to put back into the festival, whether that’s adding to the line-up, improving the experience on site, or simply keeping more of the rising costs away from festivalgoers.
From 20,000 to 30,000
Lakefest isn’t slowing down anytime soon! The team has already increased its licensed capacity, opening the door to an even bigger festival in the years ahead.
And as Lakefest takes that next step, Ticket Tailor will be growing alongside them.
As Andy puts it: “We will grow next year. We’ve increased our licensing to go from 20,000 to 30,000. And Ticket Tailor will be on that journey with us.”
Watch the Lakefest Story